Book support



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0 L WORK BOOK SUPPORT.

(No Model.)

No. 517,255. Patented Mar. 27, 1:3 94.

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(NoModelJ 'zsheets-sheet 2. G. L. WORK.

'BOOK SUPPORT. v No. 517,255. Patented Mar. 27, 1894.

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' NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES L. WORK, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ALLEN E. THOMAS, OF SAME PLACE.

BOOK-SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 517,255, dated March 2'7, 1894.

Application filed January 6, 1892.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

1 3e it known that I, CHARLES L. WORK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Book-Supports, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates primarily to improvements in swinging and adjustable book-holders or supports for attachment to a desk, bedstead or chair, and its particular object is to provide a convenient holder for large books, such as dictionaries and other works of reference, though its plan of construction admlts of practically universal application.

The lnvention consists in various combinatlons and details of construction relating to that end, as hereinafter set forth and described.

In the drawings: Figure 1 shows in perspectwo a holder embodying my invention, supported on a bracket attached to a chair, so that a person sitting in a chair andreading may, when desired, swing the bracket carrying the holder and book, so as to bring the book immediately in front of him or to his side. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the holder; Fig. 3, an elevation from the end corresponding to the top of the book; Fig. 4, an end V ew, showing the sides open and the positlon of the various parts when so opened. Fig. 5 is a plan view of a holder with the sides opened.

As represented in the drawings, the holder conslsts of the back, A, and the lids, B, made of wood or any other suitable material, securely hinged together as shown. The back is slightly concave that a book may the bet ter fit therein. Cleats, b, are fastened to the inside of the lids, and at or near the bottom thereof, for the purpose of acting as rests and preventing the book from sliding down out of the holder, said cleats also serving this further purpose, to wit: they are so made and adjusted that when the sides of the holder are closed the inner ends, b, of these cleats strike against the upper surface of the back, or a projection thereof, as shown in Fig. 2, thus forming a positive stop, preventing Serial No. 417,213. (No model.)

movement of the lids inwardly beyond a certain distance, which will, of course, generally be such that the sides, when closed, will be parallel to each other. A coiled retraction spring, 0, is attached to the sides by means of hook-plates, c, fastened thereto so as to project over the lower edge thereof. When the lids are opened this spring is drawn into tension and will, except where they are fully opened, urge them to close and insure the operation of the lock-braces, hereinafter described. To the outside of the lids are fastened stop-bars, c, which are so constructed and arranged that, when thelids are opened, these stops will strike against the edges of the back, thus preventing the lids opening beyond a certain distance, usually so that I they are in the same plane.

In order to hold the lids and, thus, the book securely closed, I have provided the lockbraces, D, pivoted to the stop-bars'at d, as shown. The outer ends of said lock braces are shouldered as at d, and these shoulders, when the lids are fully closed, are caused by means of the stress of the coiled springs, (P, to engage with the brace-rod, E, against which the edges of said lock-braces are constantly held by the tension of said springs, whatever their position so that the shoulders instantly snap behind the rod when the lids are closed and lock the latter instantly and securely in the closed position. To prevent the lockbraces from sliding laterally along said rod, which would increase their liability to bend, collars 'e, are attached to the rod on each side of the contacting point of said braces, as shown. This brace-rod extends, as shown, from the journal or upstanding pivot upon which the back revolves, in a direction trending longitudinally of said back, to the upper end thereof and is there rigidly secured, its location being practically within a central plane intersecting the axis of the pivot and parallel with and equidistant from the'inner faces or sides of the lids when they are closed.

When it is desired to open the holder lids, the braces are thrown out of engagement with the brace-rod by means of disengaging levers, F, which are likewise pivoted to the stopbars, the same pivot being used both for the braces and the disengaging levers. These levers are provided with lugs or pins, f, at their lower or ends beyond the fulcrum, which are so placed that, when the inner ends of said levers are pressed toward the lids, said pins strike the lock-braces, below where they are pivoted, and raise them out of engagement with the brace-rod. The lids of the holder may then be opened and the book in the holder rendered accessible. The disengaging levers being pivoted low down upon the lids, with a great disproportion between power and weight arms, the tendency is for them to fall outward away from the sides of the holder, rendering them unhandy for use and exposing them to breakage from being struck. To obviate this, I place stop pins,f', upon the stop-bars below the pivots so as to retain them in working position. It is of course essential that the brace rod be rigid and that its position be fixed, in order to insure the engagement of the lock-levers or braces therewith. To render said rod thus rigid and stationary, one end thereof is fastened to the back of the book-holder, the other end being secured in position by means of a thimble, 9', attached thereto and adjusted to align with the socket, G, for and to fit the upstanding journal, 9, of the bracket, G, carrying said holder. As thus arranged it serves as a support or brace to the upper part of the back of the holder. 1 do not desire, however, so far as the locklevers are concerned, to limit myself to this particular construction, as any device that will afford a rigid and fixed support to said lock-levers will answer.

It is often desirable to attach a swinging book-holder to a chair for the use of an invalid or for a student, or to the side of a desk, and I have therefore represented the brackets for the use of my book-holder with forked arms, 9 ,9 each of them having, at the outer end, a downwardly bent pintle, g, the two pintles being practically in line with each other so that they may enter sockets, g, on the arms and body of the chair, or upon any other support, and may be lifted out thereof. The upper fork of the bracket, it will be observed, is nearly or quite horizontal, while the lower is inclined, merging into the upper adjacent to the upstandingjournal, and sew ing as a brace. It will therefore be steady and can be swung in the sockets into whatever position desired, while the holder may be swung upon its own journal on the bracket so as to place the book properly before the readers eyes, notwithstanding any attitude or posture he may assume. The sockets will not necessarily be of any great size and will hardly be noticeable whenever the bracket is removed or lifted out from them.

The application of the holder to a desk will readily be understood from the foregoing description.

I claim- 1. The combination substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the back and lids, the brace-rod beneath the back, the shouldered brace-levers pivoted to the lids and meeting against the brace-rod, and means holding said levers against the brace-rod whereby the shoulders catch over the red when the lids are closed.

2. The combination substantially as herein before set forth, of the back, the lids, the brace-rod beneath the back and longitudinal thereof and extending from the journal to the upper end of said back, the shouldered bracelevers pivoted to the lids and resting against the brace rod, means holding said levers against the brace-rod, and collars on the bracerod to prevent lateral displacement of the brace-levers.

3. lhe combination substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the back and lids of a book-holder, of the shouldered brace-levers pivoted to the lids, the central brace-rod at which these levers meet and cross, springs holding said levers against the brace-rod whereby their shoulders catch over the bracerod when the lids are closed, and disengaging levers for throwing the shoulders out of en gagement to permit them to slide past each other with the opening of the lids.

at. The combination substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the book-holder, of the central brace rod rigidly secured near the upper part of its back and having a thimble in alignment with the socket upon said back, the sustaining bracket having a journal entering said thimble and socket, and the bracelevers pivoted to the lids and meeting at and engaging with said brace-rod.

5. The combination substantially as hereinbel'ore set forth, with the shouldered bracelevers, of the central brace-r0d serving both as a catch for said shoulders and also as a longitudinal brace for the back of the holder.

6. The combination substantially as hereinbefore set forth, with the brace'levers pivoted to thelids, central brace-rod upon which said levers meet, and disengaging levers, of stops for the latter to prevent them from departing from the operating position.

7. The combination substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the back, the lids, the stops on the outer sides of said lids, arranged to come in contact with the edges of the back, the brace-levers pivoted to the lids, the central brace-rod upon which said levers meet, and the disengaging levers.

CHAS. L. WORK.

Witnesses:

STEPHEN T. BRYCE, DANIEL K. ALLISON. 

